Self-retractable hanger

ABSTRACT

A housing having a reciprocally movable hook supported in the housing and under the influence of a spring. A key-actuated lock also influences the position of the hook to extend an angled end of the hook out of the housing. The angled hook end serves as a hanger for items, such as a fire extinguisher suspended on a wall, and, when the extinguisher is removed from the hanger, the hook automatically retracts into the housing so that it cannot again be used until the lock is rotated by the key. A finger is connected with the lock for engaging the hook and extending it from the housing, when the lock is rotated. Also, a pawl is connected with the finger for extending into the path of the hook and preventing the hook from being exposed from the housing, except for the use of a key.

United States Patent Domanico [54} SELF-RETRACTABLE HANGER [22] Filed:Oct. 23, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 83,543

[5 2] US. Cl ..248/203, 70/62 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47l' 5/08 [58] Field ofSearch ..248/203, 204, 295, 316 A; 70/62,58;21l/4, 8, 9

[56] Reierences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,94l,l 12 12/1933Schmansky..... 248/203 2,274,] l l 2/1942 Weaver..... ...248/2033,391,888 7/1968 Longo ..248/203 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 736,5659/1932 France ..248/316 A 51 May 30, 1972 Primary ExaminerMarionParsons, Jr. AttorneyArthur J. Hansmann [57] ABSTRACT A housing having areciprocally movable hook supported in the housing and under theinfluence of a spring. A key-actuated lock also influences the positionof the hook to extend an 'angled end of the hook out of the housing. Theangled hook end serves as a hanger for items, such as a fireextinguisher suspended on a wall, and, when the extinguisher is removedfrom the hanger, the hook automatically retracts into the housing sothat it cannot again be used until the lock is rotated by the key. Afinger is connected with the lock for engaging the hook and extending itfrom the housing, when the lock is rotated. Also, a pawl is connectedwith the finger for extending into the path of the hook and preventingthe hook from being exposed from the housing, except for the use of akey.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1;) (gill? 0 Ir (1" /a 3/ .9 $1 n t"; 11 1|PATENTEDMAY 30 I972 [NI EN TOR CHARLES J DOMAN/CO A TTOR/VEYSELF-RETRACTABLE HANGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Self-retractablehangers are already known in the prior art, and such hangers exist forsuspension of fire extinguishers and like items. In these prior artstructures, the hangers are available for supporting fire extinguishersor other items, such that when the fire extinguisher is first removedfrom the hook of the hanger, the hook automatically retracts into ahousing and cannot again be exposed for use until a key is used torelease and expose the hook. In this manner, once a fire extinguisherhas been removed from the hanger, such as for emptying the contents incombating a fire, the extinguisher cannot be replaced on the hanger,except by authorized personel who have the key for actuating the lock.Therefore, vandals, inadvertent use of the extinguisher, and likefactors cannot jeopardize the primary purpose of indicating that thesuspended item has not been initially removed from the hanger.

With more detailed consideration of the prior art hangers, it is alsonoted that these hangers are of a self-locking or self-actuating naturesuch that once the item is removed from the hook of the hanger, thehanger retracts and cannot again be exposed until a key is used.However, these prior art hangers are not commonly used in actualpractice, and no doubt one reason for their lack of use is that they arecomplicated and expensive, and they are not wholly suitable and reliablefor the intended purpose. One such example of a prior art hanger isshown in US Pat. No. 1,941,112, and, while this shown hanger doesutilize a retracting spring and a lock, it does not have a hook which isextendable from the housing, nor is it of a structure which is reliablein the relationship of the sliding arts. p Accordingly, it is thegeneral object of this invention to provide a self-retracting type ofhanger for supporting fire extinguishers or the like, and to providethis construction in an improved structure which is also more sturdy andreliable than the hangers known heretofore.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a hanger whichhas a self-retracting hook under the influence of a spring and also alock, such that actuation of the lock will cause the retracted hook tobe'exposed from the housing for supporting an item suspended thereon. Inaccomplishing this object, the hook is reciprocally mounted in thehousing to move in and out along a controlled path so that, when theitem is removed from the hook, the hook will reliably retract into thehousing, since the hook is guided in its reciprocal or retractingmovement. Still further, the lock is arranged with an arm for engagingthe hook to extend the hook from the housing, and a pawl is related tothe arm for further assuring that the retracted arm cannot be tamperedwith and pulled from the housing to an exposed position for rehangingthe item without use of the key.

Still further, it is a specific object of this invention to provide ahanger which can be mounted on a wall and have a hook exposed from thehousing of the hanger such that the hook is disposed in a positionimmediately adjacent the wall so that the item suspended on the hookwill be suspended in contact with the wall and thereby occupy only aminimum of space.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reading thefollowing description in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of ahanger with a fire extinguisher suspended therefrom.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the hanger of FIG. 1, but with therear cover plate removed for exposing the working parts.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the parts in differentposition, and with part of the housing broken away.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a buildingwall 10 suitably supporting the hanger 11, which is the hanger of thisinvention, and a fire extinguisher 12 is suspended from the hanger 11.It will therefore be understood that the hanger 11 is suitably mountedon the wall 10 by being bolted or screwed thereto, and the fireextinguisher 12 is available for the fire fighting purpose. The majorfeature of this invention is that when the extinguisher 12 is removedfrom the hanger 11, then the extinguisher cannot be placed onto thehanger 11 without the use of a key 13 which actuates a lock 14 on thehanger 11. Thus, a movable hook 16 is included as a part of the hangerl1, and, as soon as the extinguisher 12 is removed from the engagedposition with the hook 16, then the hook 16 is retracted into the hanger'housing 17 so that the extinguisher 12 cannot be replaced without theuse of the key 13.

The housing 17 has a cavity 18 which provides a guide track for thereciprocal and sliding hook 16 which has an upper offset portion 19 anda lower hook end or angled end 21. A post 22 is fixedly mounted in thehousing 17, and the hook offset portion 19 has an opening 23 whichreceives the post 22 and thereby provides a slide relationship of thehook 16 on the post 22. The hook 16 can therefore slide between itsupper position shown in FIG. 2, where the hook offset portion 19 willabut the housing upper wall 24, and the hook 16 can also slide down towhere the offset portion will abut the two stope 26 affixed to thehousing 17. Thus, when a heavy item such as the fire extinguisher 12 ishung on the hook 16, the hook 16 will be pulled downwardly to where thehook portion 19 will rest on the housing stops 26, and this is theposition of the hook 16 as seen in FIG. 1.

The housing 17 also has a wall 27 which provides a support for the lowerend of the post 22. Further, a compression coil spring 28 is disposed onthe post 22 and encircles the post 22 and extends between the hook upperportion 19 and the housing wall 27, as shown. Still further, it will ofcourse be seen and understood that the housing 17 has side flanges 29and 31 which contain screw holes 32 for mounting the hanger 11 on thewall 10.

With the structure as thus described, the hook 16 is closely guided inits sliding or reciprocal movement relative to the housing 17, and arear housing cover plate 33 is removably mounted on the back of thehousing 17 for enclosing the moving parts seen in FIG. 2 and for furtherconfining and guiding the hook 16. In this arrangement, the hook 16 istherefore closely guided and is accurately slidable so that it readilymoves under the influence of the spring 28 to retract into the housing17 when the extinguisher 12 is removed from the hook 16.

The rotatable lock 14 is mounted on the housing 17 and is controlled bythe key 13. A screw 34 is threaded into the lock 14 to rotate with thelock in full response to rotation of the key 13, in the conventionalmanner. An arm 36 is also mounted on the lock 14 to rotate with therotating portion of the lock 14, and the arm presents a finger 37 whichrotates into the path of movement of the hook 16, so the arm 36 rotatesbetween the two limit positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. Thus, inrotating the lock 14 and therefore the arm 36 from the FIG. 2 positionand to the FIG. 5 position, the finger 37 engages the hook offsetportion 19 as it contacts the hook upper surface 38 at the finger tip39. Thus the finger 36 depresses the hook 16 and moves it to slightlybeyond the position of the hook 16 as seen in FIG. 5, and the finger 37then slides beyond the surface 38 and stops in the position actuallyshown in FIG. 5. Thus, the hook 16 has its angled end 21 exposed fromthe housing 17, as desired. Also, the finger surface 41 is disposed inthe path of the hook 16 in the FIG. 5 position, so the hook 16 is heldexposed even though the extinguisher 12 is not holding the hook 16 down.With this arrangement, the user can rotate the lock 14 to position theparts as shown in FIG. 5, and he then need not hold the key 13 with onehand while trying to place the extinguisher 12 onto the hook 16 with theother hand. Instead, the parts will stay in the position shown in FIG. 5while the key 13 remains in the lock 14, and the operator can then usetwo hands to lift the relatively heavy extinguisher 12 and place it ontothe hook 16.

When the extinguisher 12 is placed onto the hook 16, then the hook 16 isfurther depressed and moves down to where its offset portion 19 rests onthe stops 26. In this position, the operator can then re-rotate the lock14 and thus replace the arm 36 to the FIG. 2 position, and the key 13can now for the first time be removed from the lock 14. This assuresthat the arm 36 is placed in its correct upper position of FIG. 2 beforethe key I3 can be removed. Also, as soon as the extinguisher 12 isremoved from the hook 16, then the spring 28 will cause the hook 16 tobe moved upwardly to the retracted position shown in FIG. 2, as desired.

Finally, a pawl 42 is also associated with the lock 14 and is pivotallyrelated to the arm 36 to be limitly pivotal relative to the arm 36. Thatis, the pawl 42 can rotate with the rotation of the lock 14, as shown inthe two positions between FIGS. 2 and 5, and the pawl 42 can also rotateslightly relative to the lock 14 and also relative to the arm 36. Thusthe pawl 42 has a bent end 43 which overlies the edge of the arm 36 toprovide the limited pivotal movement of the pawl 42 relative to the arm36in the clockwise direction of rotation of the pawl 42 as seen in FIG.2. To limit rotation or pivot of the pawl 42 in the counter-clockwisedirection, a tang or offset 44 is provided on the pawl 42, and this tangis in the plane of the arm 36 to abut the arm 36 as the pawl 42 isrotated in a counter-clockwise direction to a position of abutment withthe arm 36, and FIG. 3 shows the offset tang 44. That is, the pawl 42 issimply provided with two projecting portions which lie in the plane ofthe arm 36 to abut the arm 36 and thereby limit pivotal motion of thepawl 42 relative to the arm 36. In this manner, it will then beunderstood that, while the pawl 42 can rotate counterclockwise from theposition shown in FIG. 2, the hook 16 then can be moved up past the pawl42 and to the position shown in FIG. 2. However, since the pawl 42cannot rotate in a clockwise direction from that position shown in FIG.2, the hook 16 cannot be pulled downwardly to be exposed from thehousing 17 since the pawl end 46 projects into the path of the hookportion 19 to prevent such pulling of the hook 16 from the housing 17.Pawl portions 43 and 44 are stops.

The hook angled end 21 is disposed parallel with the housing surface 46,and thus the two portions 21 and 46 provide a desirable angle forentrapping and securing the fire extinguisher handle 47.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-retractable hanger, comprising a housing, a hook reciprocallydisposed in said housing and including an angled end exposable beyondand retractable within said housing in accordance with the movement ofsaid hook, a spring in said housing and operative on said hook forretracting said angled end into said housing, a key-actuated lock onsaid housing and including a rotatable part, an arm operativelyconnected with said rotatable part for rotating therewith and with saidarm extending into the path of movement of said hook for engaging andmoving said hook to a position of exposing said angled end beyond saidhousing, and a pawl connected to said am and extending therefrom intothe path of movement of said hook for engaging said hook and preventingmovement of said hook when said lock is not rotated, to thereby preventexpo sure of said angled end without actuation of said lock.

2. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said arm includes a fingerextending to a position to rotate across the path of said hook and to anover-center position relative to the central axis of said lock, forholding said hook against the influence of said spring.

3. The hanger as claimed in claim 2, including a stop on said housingand in the path of movement of said hook for limiting the extent thatsaid angled end can be exposed from said housing, said stop beinglocated on said housing and relative to said hook at a position alongthe path of movement of said hook beyond the over-center positionrelation of said hook with Said arm.

4. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing has a beveledend at the location where said angled end is exposed beyond saidhousing, and with said beveled end and said angled end being parallel toeach other and presenting two spaced-apart inclined surfaces forreceiving and suspending an item therebetween.

5. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hook includes aportion extending in the direction of the central axis of said lock,said pawl being pivotally mounted relative to said arm for independentmovement past said hook portion, and stops on said pawl for limitingpivotal movement relative to said arm and thereby limiting movement ofsaid hook when said lock is in the locked position.

6. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, including a post fixed in saidhousing, said hook having an offset portion slidable on said post torender said hook reciprocable in said housing, said spring encirclingsaid post and engaging said hook offset portion for spring-urging saidhook, and a stop in said housing in the path of movement of said offsetportion for limiting exposure of said angled end from said housing.

k IF

1. A self-retractable hanger, comprising a housing, a hook reciprocallydisposed in said housing and including an angled end exposable beyondand retractable within said housing in accordance with the movement ofsaid hook, a spring in said housing and operative on said hook forretracting said angled end into said housing, a key-actuated lock onsaid housing and including a rotatable part, an arm operativelyconnected with said rotatable part for rotating therewith and with saidarm extending into the path of movement of said hook for engaging andmoving said hook to a position of exposing said angled end beyond saidhousing, and a pawl connected to said arm and extending therefrom intothe path of movement of said hook for engaging said hook and preventingmovement of said hook when said lock is not rotated, to thereby preventexposure of said angled end without actuation of said lock.
 2. Thehanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said arm includes a fingerextending to a position to rotate across the path of said hook and to anover-center position relative to the central axis of said lock, forholding said hook against the influence of said spring.
 3. The hanger asclaimed in claim 2, including a stop on said housing and in the path ofmovement of said hook for limiting the extent that said angled end canbe exposed from said housing, said stop being located on said housingand relative to said hook at a position along the path of movement ofsaid hook beyond the over-center position relation of said hook withsaid arm.
 4. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing hasa beveled end at the location where said angled end is exposed beyondsaid housing, and with said beveled end and said angled end beingparallel to each other and presenting two spaced-apart inclined surfacesfor receiving and suspending an item therebetween.
 5. The hanger asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said hook includes a portion extending inthe direction of the central axis of said lock, said pawl beingpivotally mounted relative to said arm for independent movement pastsaid hook portion, and stops on said pawl for limiting pivotal movementrelative to said arm and thereby limiting movement of said hook whensaid lock is in the locked position.
 6. The hanger as claimed in claim1, including a post fixed in said housing, said hook having an offsetportion slidable on said post to render said hook reciprocable in saidhousing, said spring encircling said post and engaging said hook offsetportion for spring-urging said hook, and a stop in said housing in thepath of movement of said offset portion for limiting exposure of saidangled end from said housing.